Learn how Disney stopped Star Wars Episode 7 spoilers from leaking
Even though Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens does not get released until December 2015, it is one of the most guarded secrets in Hollywood.
After The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, plans for a third Star Wars trilogy were announced. J.J. Abrams directed the upcoming Star Wars: Episode 7 from a screenplay he co-wrote with Lawrence Kasdan, the co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Second-unit filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland, with principal photography taking place between May and November 2014 in Abu Dhabi, and Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Star Wars Episode 7 stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o, and Gwendoline Christie, with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker reprising their roles from previous films. The Force Awakens is set approximately 30 years after Return of the Jedi.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has gone above and beyond to protect any spoilers from leaking onto the internet. But, the movie is still unable to protect itself from leaks.
[Mathew] Myatt discovered that he inadvertently had photographed the Millennium Falcon, one of the most closely held secrets on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, he really had no clue what was about to hit him, he told me when I visited him recently at the airfield. That night, after feeding his cat, he uploaded his picture — the right half of Han Solo’s galactic cruiser parked next to a blue and black X-wing fighter — to Twitter. He was awakened the next morning by a call from The Sun,a British tabloid. Minutes later, The Guardian phoned. When Myatt fired up his iPad, he was stunned to see more than 1,000 retweets. No one in the public had known filming was happening in the park. When BBC Belfast interviewed Myatt, they toggled between a conversation about his photo and coverage of the verdict in Oscar Pistorius‘ murder trial in South Africa.
Here are a list of the 5 most ridiculous ways Disney has tried to stop Star Wars Episode VIIÂ details from leaking onto the Internet.
5 Ridiculous Ways Star Wars Episode 7 Stopped Spoilers
5. Banning the Media
Despite tons of media requests, Disney banned all media communication about the upcoming Star Wars Episode 7 movie. “Movie shoots were once considered sacred and off-limits to media.”
4. Drone Shield
A single picture of the set of Star Wars Episode 7 could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. So, hundreds of people purchased drones to capture pictures of the new Star Wars Episode 7 movie set, Disney invested in anti-drone technology. According to the Hollywood Reporter “A drone shield doesn’t shoot down drones but instead uses an early warning system to alert the owner to the presence of the unwanted intruders.”
3. Non-disclosure Agreements
Disney’s attorneys went above and beyond to protect plot details from the movie. So much so that according to reports, it created a “culture of terror”.
“The nondisclosure agreements these people have to sign have created a culture of terror,” says Chris Taylor, author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe. “[His account] just vanished. It was completely Orwellian. It has that level of secrecy.
2. Posters
J.J. Abrams had production post posters throughout the set warning extras, cast, and crew members not to say a word about the upcoming feature film.
1. Lawsuits
After one fan climbed up a tree to see what was going on set of Star Wars Episode 7, he was able to get several photos of the cast and crew. He later posted those photos on Twitter and it revealed a major spoiler. The next day the fan went up the same tree. However, this time he was greeted by police officers, production managers, and a copyright infringement lawsuit.
“I think I’m in trouble; I’m going to get a stay in her majesty’s hotel.” Ultimately, the police stopped harassing him, and the Star Wars people left him alone. “But it was manic there for a couple of weeks,” he says.
Star Wars Episode 7 is doing whatever it takes to protect the storyline, costumes, and characters from leaking onto the internet. However, with people paying tens of thousands of dollars for a fuzzy photo of the cast and crew, people are going above and beyond to get a quick snapshot of Star Wars Episode 7.
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Image Credit:Â Nando Machado / Shutterstock.com
